Bits and Pieces
by TinySprite
Summary: Another prompt table fic, this one done for fun. Warnings will be applied as needed.
1. Lively

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Lively

(-)

A common problem on Airlandis was the wind.

The lively gusts could and would happily bat around any who walked around outside of the city's protective dome, sometimes even nearly knocking people off the city entirely.

It was at the point it was honestly part of the dragonators duties during patrol on the city, to keep an eye out for anyone about to fall over the edge. Unfortunately, children were the most likely to fall. Not only because of their small, light size but also because many of them would happily run into the wind gusts in an attempt to feel like they were flying.

Aaron had once admitted to Z'neth it was a good way to guess who would be a future dragonator applicant. They tended to be the kids that ran into the wind the most.


	2. Remorseful

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Remorseful

(-)

Iranda sighed again to herself, wishing the man would just leave her alone, "I've told you before and I'll tell you again, Daniel, I am a married woman!"

Daniel smiled at her, "But Iranda, it's been almost eighteen years. Surely you wish for some company at least."

The blonde woman let an irritated huff escape from her as she stood from the dining hall table, "No, I do not in the least. Definitely not your sort of company!"

She strode off after that, shutting her ears against him trying to call her back. Iranda knew Daniel meant well, but he was determined to court her, despite her warning him off. Going back to the private room she'd been given not long after her arrival on the _Explorer_, Iranda shut herself inside and activated the door's locks.

With a sigh, she glanced at her quarters. The room was small but it would do for her...especially since she was alone. Daniel had been right about one thing, Iranda did wish for company. But what she wanted was the company of her husband and children, not that of a widowed man who wouldn't get the hint of disinterest.

Remembering his remark about the time passed, Iranda sat at her desk with a tired sigh. Though she still held that her decision all that time ago had been the right one, she was remorseful about actually stepping through the portal.

What had she missed during all this time? Was Aaron still waiting for her or had he remarried? What about her children? Had they grown up and started families of their own by now?

Shaking those depressing thoughts out of her head, Iranda decided to take the risk and ventured back out of her room. Her duties in the ship's library were already done for the day and no one had asked her to play the piano for them, so she had some free time. Seeing no Daniel in sight, she let out a thankful breath and ventured down the halls, making for the school rooms.

She and Beatrice (or Trisha as she preferred), the middle school history teacher, were good friends and the other woman never minded Iranda popping in during class. The children were always happy to see her as well and could keep her occupied the whole time with questions about Airlandis, Old Earth, the dragons and anything else they could think of.

Trisha often joked that Iranda was the reason the class studied so hard, that her answers inspired them to see what other wonders history held. The thought of that never failed to bring a smile to Iranda's face and one was already making its way there as the class room door came into sight.


	3. Dismiss

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Dismiss

(-)

Aaron tried to keep himself calm, checking again to make sure everything was in order. The children were waiting patiently for him next to the door, having been already ready to go for a while now.

Once he was certain everything was fine and were it needed to be, Aaron filed the children out of the door to lock up, forcing his nerves to stay calm as he did so. Today was the day they were going to visit Iranda and the new baby, a new concern for worry.

Though Dram, Z'neth, Summit and Apex had all been helpful with preparing the house for a newborn, Aaron and Iranda themselves were both nervous about how the children would actually accept a new sibling at their ages.

Aaron had already had to calm Dram down earlier that week, letting the dramen child know that they weren't going to force him out just because there was a new baby. Z'neth was overall quiet on the matter, which worried Aaron the most. But on the other hand, there was the surprisingly cute ongoing argument between Summit and Apex over whether they had a new brother or a new sister.

Iranda had chosen to be surprised this time, though she privately told Aaron that she was certain it was going to be a boy. Aaron quietly hoped so, though he knew Iranda would have loved another daughter.

As they came upon the hospital, Aaron glanced down at his brood, "Does everyone remember the rules?"

They nodded and mumbled different forms of confirmation, their previous chatter dropping off now that they were here. It didn't escape Aaron's attention that Dram especially seemed increasingly uncomfortable as they stepped inside the building.

After stating their business at the reception desk, a kind nurse led them to Iranda's room. Aaron thanked her and made a mental note to talk to someone later to find out when the hospital was going to dismiss Iranda and the baby. As for right now, he had to deal with the sudden roadblock at the room's open entrance, all four children suddenly nervous about going inside.

He could see Iranda sitting in the bed, gently cradling a wrapped bundle to her chest. Before he could call out to her though, she'd already looked up and seen them. Smiling softly at her family, she asked, "Well, won't you all come here and say hello to your baby brother?"

That broke the spell, causing the children to actually go into the room but not without Summit first giving Apex a triumphant smirk. As they crowded around the bed to get their first look, Z'neth softly asked, "What's his name Mother?"

Iranda answered just as softly, "Peak. His name is Peak."


	4. Heavy

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Heavy

This is an AU bit, which might show up again in later prompts.

(-)

Wing Storm grunted as he made his way into the clearing surrounding the odd building. His shoulder still hurt from weapons training that morning and that feeling of heavy oppression was back, making his gray tail drag behind him. He missed his wings, though he could manage without them. Still, there were days when the fact that he could no longer fly got a bit much to handle.

Trying to ignore it as best he could, the gray drauman came to the door he normally used and fished the key out of his pocket to unlock it. Opening the door let a whiff of something good come to his nose and Storm couldn't help licking his lips.

As he stepped inside, he called out, "Please tell me that's rabbit stew I smell!"

There was a laugh, then a reply, "It is and it's ready!"

Locking the door behind him, Storm made a beeline for the kitchen that was just down the hall from the door. Stepping through the open doorway, he saw his best friend ladling some of the stew into a bowl, with an already full one on the table. Peak glanced up at him with a smile, handing Storm the freshly filled bowl, "You always seem to get here at the perfect moment Storm, is there a signal or something that I should know about?"

The drauman laughed, accepting a spoon from his friend as they sat at the table, "Nah, just got good luck I suppose."

They gave thanks for the meal and dug in, Storm letting out a happy noise as he ate, "This tastes great!"

Peak smiled at the compliment, picking up the bread bowl to offer Storm a roll, "Thanks, I tried some new seasoning this time. I think it's definitely a keeper."

Wing Storm nodded, feeling his bad mood and pain vanishing as the good food filled his stomach, "So, what's the plan for today?"

Peak shrugged, swallowing his current mouthful before speaking, "I'm not too sure really. I need to fletch some new arrows and there's cleaning that needs to be done, like always. What were you thinking?"

Storm thought for a minute, going through a mental inventory, "Since winter's coming up, I was thinking we could stock up a bit. We could get a deer or two today and focus on vegetables and such tomorrow."

Peak nodded at that, "Good plan. I like yours better."

Storm smirked, "I knew you would. It doesn't involve sweeping up."

Peak lightly flung a roll at his friend's head in mock anger. Wing Storm easily caught it in his teeth, taking it out with one hand to use it to mop up the last of his stew, "Mind if I get seconds? Riptor had us doing early morning drills and I didn't get a chance to snag any breakfast."

The blond human gestured to the stew pot, "Help yourself. I might have some more myself in a minute."

As Storm got himself seconds, he spared a bit of time to think on something. Would today be the day he asked? Ever since he'd found this weird place all those months ago, he'd never actually found out why Peak was living here alone and from the clues he'd picked up, 'alone' had covered more than a few years.

Before he could ask though, there was a softly asked question, "Storm...you're a drauman right?"

Wing Storm nodded but caught that Peak was looking down fixedly at the table and said it out loud, "Yeah, I am. I told you the first time we met."

Another question, just as soft as the first, "Draumen are descended from dragons, aren't they?"

Storm wondered where this was going and got a sinking feeling in his chest, "Yeah, we are."

A bit of silence passed then, "Where are your wings then?"

Wing Storm was surprised that he actually thought to quickly put the bowl down before he broke it in his tightening grip. Taking a deep breath, reminding himself that Peak was his friend and clearly felt guilty about asking, Storm said, "I'll tell you if you answer my question, deal?"

"Deal."

Storm turned around to see that Peak was staring right at him in a startlingly unnerving way. Determined though, Storm made himself answer first, "I used to have wings until the year before last. During a fight with some dark dramen, one of them got lucky and cut my left wing open. It could have been saved if I'd gotten to a doc in time but we ended up getting barricaded in for days."

Storm took a breath and finished, "By the time we got help, an infection had already set in and there wasn't much they could do but try to trim it out. We draumen can regrow parts of our wings if there's not too much damage and they judged that it was a safe procedure to do. But the infection was more wide-spread than they thought and necrosis had set in by the time they'd realized it. At that point, there wasn't anything that anyone could do so it was either they take the wing or risk the infection spreading further."

The drauman moved a bit to the side so he could lean back against a kitchen counter, "They took my wings, both of them. When they told me what they were going to have to do, I made that decision. Draumen can regrow parts of a wing, not a whole one and what's the point of only having one if I can't have both?"

Peak finally spoke then, "I'm sorry Storm."

Wing Storm gave a jerky shrug, forcing himself to cross his arms at his middle to avoid touching the scarred spots on his back, "Like I said, it's been over two years. I've adjusted, more or less. So, now that I've answered your question, you'll answer mine, right?"

Peak nodded, waiting patiently for whatever it was that Wing Storm wanted to ask. He didn't have to wait long as the other male questioned, "Why are you here?"

The human teen frowned, "Huh?"

Wing Storm set his hands free to make a wide-spread gesture meant to refer to the building as a whole, possibly even the surrounding area, "I mean, why do you live here alone? Before I found this place, I thought no one lived in the Southern Forest."

To Storm's eternal surprise, Peak actually reddened and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Do you want the long version or the short one?"

Storm folded his arms again, focusing all of his attention on Peak, "I want the whole version."

Peak sighed and answered, "I'm a wind mage. For some reason, I just can't get my power under control whenever I try to use it, so a few years back I was allowed to move out here until I could control them. There used to be a couple of servants with me, but I dismissed them last year."

The drauman tilted his head curiously at his friend, "Why'd you do that?"

Peak shrugged again, "It didn't seem right to make them live out here in the wilderness with me when they had family back home. I mean, I could take care of myself by then and there wasn't really a lot for either of them to do at that point. Besides, Margret was getting on in her years and it really didn't seem fair to keep her out here when Margret's daughter and her family said they'd take her in."

Wing Storm nodded, an expectant eye on Peak. The teen shifted again before finally continuing on, "I can also hear the dead."

Storm blinked, not expecting that. While hearing the voices of spirits was a wind ability, it wasn't a common one, "Really?"

Peak nodded, looking tired, "Really. It's not so bad most of the time. A lot of them just want to chat and gossip mainly. Many of them don't even realize they're dead or they do but just don't feel like passing on yet. It was pretty rare for any of them to actually seek me out specifically. I could even see them sometimes, not very clearly though and it was easier for the ones that had died recently."

Wing Storm nodded, taking all of that in. Well, it definitely explained why Peak lived alone. It was probably more comfortable out here than back wherever his home was. With that question forming in his mouth, Storm caught the slightly pleading look on Peak's face and changed it, "So, want to have some more lunch first or go hunting?"

Peak brightened a bit, "Lunch first. I'm still hungry."

Storm let out a laugh as he returned to the table while Peak got up to get himself seconds, "I hear ya on that."

Though they ate in silence now, both males felt a little more comfortable with each other now. A good sign for their still developing friendship.


	5. Forward

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Forward

Note, this is set in the same AU as the previous prompt 'Heavy'.

(-)

Apex sat in a quiet corner off the main hall in a tiny sitting room, trying to nurse a headache away with a cup of hot tea and silence. Blaze Wind came by, the white and purple drauman sliding into the chair opposite hers. Keeping quiet, he handed her a bit of folded paper.

She accepted it and flipped it open, reading its contents before letting out a groan and allowing her head to flop forward into one hand. Blaze raised an eyebrow, murmuring, "That bad?"

The young woman handed the paper back to him to read. Blaze skimmed it, letting a wince show on his features, "Ouch."

"They're just kids Blaze, what can we do?"

Apex was actually looking close to tears, clearly uncertain how to handle this. The drauman shrugged, "What'd you do to any misbehaving kid, my Lady. Discipline them."

The redhead sighed and brought the paper back to herself to read again, grumbling, "Would they even respond to it?"

Blaze Wind nipped at his own lower lip, fighting the urge to roll a cigarette, "They'll have to. If they keep going how they are, it won't be easy for anyone."

Apex sighed again, appearing to read the paper yet again, "I just wish I knew how Mother handled this. They say she was the best at dealing with the young mages."

Blaze gave a non-committal nod, thinking on the subject at hand. A group of young mages, ages ranging from fifteen all the way to nineteen, were trying to rebel against the temples, insisting that the current ways of instruction were too old-fashioned and that they should be allowed to learn at a faster pace.

Calling themselves the Dragon's Tears, members of the group were constantly being caught performing spells and rituals above their levels. So far nothing too damaging had been done, but the latest exposure had caught an apprentice who had apparently been making secret copies of a high level summoning book and passing them out to whoever wanted them.

Apex broke him from his thoughts then, firmly stating, "There's nothing for it. I'll put out the order for the Fire Temple to burn any illegal copies they find and to hold any they catch attempting a summoning until either I or another royal gets there."

She rose from her seat, groaning as her sore back protested it, "I need to go speak with Z'neth about this. Summit's busy with the Water Temple's preparations for dealing with the border clashes."

Blaze rose with her, offering an arm to steady his mistress. She accepted it, telling her pride to shut up for now. Falling off her horse had been an embarrassing accident and she wasn't going to risk hurting herself further just because she refused a bit of help. Especially not now with what was going on.

As they walked into the forward entrance hall, Apex suddenly asked, "Is there any word on Peak by the way?"

Blaze shook his head, "Sorry my Lady. That shield still has yet to drop and no one's been able to get in with any of the spells we could think of."

She sighed sadly but nodded at the information, "How's Wing Storm doing?"

Blaze Wind smiled, "Better than expected. He's been coping well without his wings. It must be that training he does during the afternoon."

She smiled back at him, "That's good to hear. I was worried that he might have to be discharged from service."

Blaze snorted, "From the looks of it, that won't be for a while yet."

The conversation was stopped there as a nervous attendant quickly approached them to tell Apex about the day's events for the Fire Temple, which unfortunately boiled down to the junior class burning more things than they should have during target practice.

With a fierce mutter, Apex began to flex her power as the Dragon's Flame, the head of the Fire Temple. Who was it again that had told her all that romantic crap about magic? She'd love to give them a good kick right about now.


	6. Prowl

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is mine.

Prompt: Prowl

Note, this is set in the same AU as Heavy and Forward.

(-)

Summit was normally a good-natured and easygoing person. It came naturally to him and also went with his magical element of water. However, the last few days of hectic back and forth work of treating the injured and sick as well as dealing with frantic and outright hysterical people, along with the troubles caused by that stupid new group of idiot mages, would be enough to make anyone snap.

Add in to that Summit's other duties as the Dragon's Blood, leader of the Water Temple, coupled with his emergency duties in regards to the sudden influx of refugees and the likely upcoming situation of war and it was an outright miracle he hadn't snapped yet.

But he couldn't snap, even if he wanted to. The Temple was barely running smoothly as it was and with all that needed to be done, the blond couldn't spare a minute to have a breakdown if his life depended on it.

Stepping out of one surgery room after giving the final instructions regarding care to his assistants, Summit finished drying off the last of the purifying water and dropped the wet towels in the basket of a passing initiate. The girl slowed just enough to let him do that before adding speed to her step to get the towels to the laundry room so as to be cleaned and ready for use.

Sighing, he removed his hair tie and barely bothered to push the hair out of his face as he turned and grabbed a heavy crate of supplies of the top of the pile a second struggling initiate was carrying. The boy gave him a weak smile of thanks before disappearing down the hall to the emergency treatment rooms. Summit made a note to give him a light reprimand later. Though they needed all the help they could get, it wouldn't do for anyone to get hurt trying to get things done faster.

Making his way towards that hall himself, he was suddenly stopped by a civilian woman who immediately began to lay into him, "This is an absolute outrage! I demand to speak with your superior at once!"

Summit tried to move his head in a way to see her better through the hair that had fallen back into his face, making another mental note to start wearing the damn hair tie all the time now, "Ma'am what are you doing back here? How did you get even get here? Civilians aren't all-"

She cut him off, snarling, "I am a Lady and I demand that my daughter gets the attention she deserves! Why aren't we be given the respect due our station?!"

Summit bit back a groan as he tried again to sooth the irate woman, "Ma'am please, we're doing all we can at this moment. If you'd -"

She cut him off again, still snarling, "My daughter is of more importance than these mere peasants and I demand that-"

"You will demand nothing!"

Summit had finally had enough and cut her off for once, passing the crate to an acolyte who had approached him just as the woman had started her rant. Finally able to push his hair out of her face, Summit felt satisfaction at her paling at the sight of his mark, that of a serpentine dragon sketched in blue lines that curled around and over his left eye. It signified that he was of the royal line as well as his station as the Dragon's Blood, the most powerful water mage in the country, perhaps even the world. Sometimes having it in such an obvious place was a blessing, like now.

He recognized her now, a lower ranked noblewoman who always tried to come off as more powerful than she was. Her status as a widow aside, she'd overstepped boundaries here. Glaring down at her, Summit did make an effort to stay polite, "Lady Whitethorn, your daughter only had a broken arm, which she herself admits she got from falling out of a tree she'd climbed on a dare. She had been seen to hours ago and everything was fine. We even took the precious time to make sure nothing else was hurt from her fall, time we cannot easily spare at this moment. Time you are now taking up with your demands that, at this point, are outright silly. Why are you here and how did you get back here?"

Another acolyte answered him in the Lady's stead, pausing in her rush to say, "A fight broke out in the main court and she used that chance to get pass the initiate guards. Please sire, she's been harassing people all day over little things and hampering our work."

Giving the girl a nod of thanks, Summit indicated for her to continue on her way before returning his attention to the now visibly steaming noblewoman, "Is that true? That you've been causing trouble in my temple over a request that has no grounds?"

She snapped at him, "No grounds?! My daughter is -"

"Out front with their maid, embarrassed, hungry and overall, just wants to go home." A priest cut in that time, looking as tired as they all felt, approaching Summit with a pleading expression. The blond frowned at the noblewoman, "Lady Whitethorn, please tell me that you haven't been here the _whole_ day, trying to get someone to bend to you?"

She puffed herself back up, stating, "Of course I have! We weren't treated with the respect due to us and I wanted that rectified!"

Summit felt his temper, which had long passed its snapping point, start to break. Gritting his teeth to keep from venting all of his frustration on her (though he knew it would be satisfying and likely the whole temple would cover for him), Summit couldn't help the bite in his voice as he spoke, "Leave. Now."

Her eyes widened comically as she screeched, "What?! I never -"

"Showed any respect to any of my people, insinuated that the refugees are less than you because they are not noble, left your injured daughter alone with only a maid to watch over her just to satisfy your petty ego, and you have wasted our valuable time during a crisis, all just to feel important. Now leave before I decide that your actions have warranted a drought on your home." The second prince stared her down as he said that, daring her to go against him.

The threat of a drought, or rather, denying her home help from the Water Temple, was a severe one but Summit felt that the situation gave him grounds to use it.

She paled again, going a nice papery color before gathering her skirts and making a beeline for an exit. Summit motioned for the priest to follow her to make sure she actually left the temple before letting out a sigh and turning to see what needed to be done next.

The brief, happy smiles of his workers at his telling off of Lady Whitethorn improved his mood a little, but not by much. Of course, a new disaster would come to his attention at that time.

"My Lord, you need to review these reports." Sky Fury approached him from down the hall, a thick stack of papers in hand and an angry expression on her face. Likely she'd been on the prowl for him since that morning, when he ducked out of his office to help with the physical work load of his temple.

But then a second voice called out to him, from a frightened initiate running dead on at him, her voice going high, "Sire, a riot's breaking out among the refugees! Someone spread rumors that we were going to throw them all out at nightfall and no one can calm them down!"

And as trouble loved to arrive in threes, a new voice from behind him called out, "Emergency Your Highness! There's been more fighting at the border and they're taking heavy casualties!"

Twisting around, Summit saw the new voice belonged to an initiate of the Wind Temple, signified by the yellow bands on his shirt sleeves, currently on duty at the Water Temple as a messenger. Internally screaming at all that had gone wrong, Summit forced himself to focus.

Looking up, he could have cried as he caught sight of who he needed, calling out, "Priestess Amela!"

The slender woman looked up from her task of passing out freshly cleaned towels, "Sire?"

He instructed her quickly, "Grab two other mages that you deem capable of field work and get those idiots out of the fourth classroom. If they really want to learn at a faster rate, then here's the perfect chance. Emergency supply bags to everyone, you're the lead and I trust your judgment. Meet with the soldiers at the usual place."

Giving him a quick nod of affirmation, his best field healer handed her basket off to another running initiate and swept off with a smile on her face that was just a little bit happy vengeance. Six of the Water Temple's own initiates had been part of that group, Dragon's Tears, and they'd been sequestered in the indicated classroom until Summit could decide what to do with them. As the prince had said, now was the perfect opportunity for crash course learning.

Turning to the messenger, Summit didn't bother to recall the boy's name, "Send word to the Fire and Earth temples, ask them to send us anyone they can spare. Their level doesn't matter, we've got plenty for them to do. Also, ask the Earth Temple if any of the relocation areas are finalized yet and to give us the locations of any that are."

The boy nodded and shot off, leaving Summit with the scared initiate and Sky Fury. Turning to his green and yellow drauman, Summit said, "Sky, I'm sorry, I'll deal with the reports later. Help me get this riot under control."

She nodded, with just a hint of a smirk, "Understood my Lord, but I doubt you'll need my help."

His return smile was only the tiniest bit evil. There was another reason the Water Temple had several large pools besides for medicinal and namesake purposes. Motioning for the frightened initiate to lead him to the riot, Summit was already letting his power manifest in those various pools.

A quick bath always helped cool heads.


	7. Cut

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Cut

Note, this is set in the same AU as Heavy, Forward and Prowl.

(-)

Z'neth glared down at the three before him. Two initiates and one acolyte from the Earth Temple had been in the Dragon's Tears, though the eldest prince suspected that there were more in his temple.

Looking at the pair of initiates, he pointed to a group of Earth priests, calmly saying, "The both of you will go with them to the relocation area D. You will follow their instructions regarding your duties of land re-nourishment, defensive wall reinforcement and emergency shielding. This will be done alongside your traditional training every day. Go, now."

The pair scuttled off quickly, knowing they'd gotten off lightly despite the heavy work load. The acolyte wouldn't be as lucky. He'd been caught trying to summon a dangerous creature and Z'neth had barely stopped the ritual in time before any damage could be done. Glaring down at the teen boy, Z'neth stated, "You are stripped of your standing as an acolyte and shall work in the Earth Temple for one year with your magic sealed. If you have proven that you are capable of being a proper mage when that year is up, the seal shall be released and you will be reinstated in the temple as an initiate. Am I clear?"

The boy sneered at him, snapping, "You can't treat me like this! I have the right to learn magic as I please!"

Z'neth surprised him by giving a slight nod, "That you do."

Just as the boy was brightening, the eldest prince continued, "Just as I have the right and the very duty to protect not only my temple but all those who work, learn, teach, and rely on it. Your sentence has been raised to two years and it will only increase with any further outbursts. You have only your own recklessness to blame."

Z'neth nodded at the pair of priests to the side, indicating them to take the once acolyte away. Ignoring the boy's sputtering, Z'neth strode off back into his temple, intent on getting back to his office. It seemed that he was getting new reports every hour detailing supply routes, refugee camps, border attacks, and most unfortunately bandit raids that were now occurring.

The Wind Temple girl that served him as a messenger was slumped at her temporary desk, random snores announcing that she was still in the world of the living. Z'neth said nothing but did stop to drape her coat over her shoulders. The girl had been working herself ragged since her assignment to the Earth Temple last week, trying to keep up with Z'neth's fast-paced and strict schedule. A few hours of rest would do her good, especially since it was unlikely anyone would be sent to replace her.

Z'neth heaved a mental sigh at that thought, cursing overeager idiots the world over. The Dragon's Tears group apparently had originated in the Wind Temple and as such the majority of its members were Wind initiates and acolytes. Those were people that were desperately needed at this time, yet they refused to cooperate because of their own pride and arrogance.

Looking at his desk, he actually did sigh at the sight of all the new reports on it. Well, no rest for the weary.

Sitting down, he grabbed the first one and used a slender paper knife to cut the sealed package open. It held some relief in its information. A suitable area for relocation area E had finally been found and the local village was willing to spare some supplies and manpower to aid in its building. Actually, going from hints in the report, it was likely that the same village was hoping to gain size and power through integrating refugees into it.

Understandable and at least it wasn't getting in the way of his work. Signing off on the report and making a copy of the new location to be sent to Summit later, Z'neth looked up as someone knocked and opened his office door.

Riptor, his blue and white drauman, stood there, looking absolutely exhausted, "Sky Fury is amazingly cruel."

Caught by surprise, Z'neth blinked, "What?"

The drauman closed the door and moved to stand before Z'neth's desk, "I thought I rode the newbies hard? She's got them terrified enough that they start running laps at the mention of her _name_."

Z'neth raised an eyebrow, "Are you jealous?"

Riptor didn't answer, but something about the way his face suddenly darkened a deeper shade of blue gave Z'neth his answer. Changing the subject, the eldest prince asked, "Anything else to report?"

Riptor's face darkened again and not in a good way, "There's the typical grumbling from the grunts, but there is something unsettling."

Z'neth waited patiently as his drauman paused. Riptor finally continued with, "There's been a rumor going around that Wing Storm is either a spy or an outright traitor. The grounds for it are apparently his disappearances in the afternoon and the claim that he is 'too adjusted' for the loss of his wings. There's already been one confrontation that I know of and at least one that I've been told about indirectly."

Z'neth frowned sharply, "Do they give any substantial reason for their claims? Why would he help the very people that took his flight away?"

Riptor returned the frown, growling, "The best claim they have is that he's angry at the medics for not catching the full spread of the infection sooner, which could have saved his wing. I've done a primary investigation, but there's no actual evidence to support anything."

The eldest prince stayed quiet, thinking on this. Technically the draumen fell under the Wind Temple's control, but in the absence of Peak, Z'neth was considered the go-to authority regarding them through his connection with the draumen leader Riptor. As if his position as the Dragon's Bones wasn't stressful enough...

Reaching a decision, Z'neth told Riptor, "Move him to the front lines then or a scouting squad. He'll be under constant supervision there and it will get him away from any overeager trouble makers."

Riptor slowly nodded, obviously hesitating before stating, "What if he refuses to go?"

Z'neth almost did a double-take, "What?"

Riptor clarified, "Not many know this, but Wing Storm is part of the Dragon's Scales guard, the very ones who protect the royal family directly, and he was the top candidate to become Peak's drauman guard. Wing Storm does have the right to refuse my orders if they interfere with his duty to your brother."

"But no one can get to Peak. He has no reason to refuse."

Riptor shrugged one shoulder, "But theoretically someone could. If nothing else, he could go along with my orders long enough to please me, then return here to resume his guard duties."

Z'neth pinched the bridge of his nose, "But no one can get pass that shield, not for over five years! The one time it lifted, it was only in in specific area and that resealed as soon as the servants were away from it. I hate to say it, but Peak's in the safest place he could be in right now."

Riptor hesitated again, "I wonder about that..."

Z'neth glanced at him, frowning, "What do you know?"

The drauman shook his head but said, "One of my newbies followed Storm on a dare. She claims that he walked through the shield like it wasn't there at all, whereas she walked straight into it."

The prince gave him a sharp look, "Is that true?"

Riptor sighed and fully shrugged this time, "I can't say. I haven't had the time to verify it for myself and I have no one to spare to keep a direct eye on him for large amounts of time."

Z'neth sighed, rubbing his forehead against the oncoming headache, "Do as you see fit Riptor. Is there anything else I should know?"

With that, Riptor dove into details of training regiments and new drauman recruits. Z'neth took it all in, trying to formulate the best plan possible from the given facts. Their best factor right now was that the fall season was coming up. Dark dramen and mutants couldn't stand the cold, so they would absolutely have to retreat during that time.

But still, he didn't count on it and was in the middle of making plans to counter any new strategy that they might be trying.


	8. Compromise

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Compromise

Note, this is set in the same AU as Heavy, Forward, Prowl and Cut. There is some cursing in here.

(-)

Peak was surprised when Wing Storm came early for lunch. That surprise became worry when Storm barely conversed with him, instead just leaning against the kitchen wall while glaring at the floor.

Finally having enough, Peak stepped away from the counter where he'd been prepping sandwich ingredients and stood before the drauman. Crossing his arms, the teen asked, "Seriously Wing Storm, what is it? You've barely said anything today and I'm getting worried. You can talk to me, you know."

The gray drauman shifted against the wall, a long minute of silence stretching between them before he finally said, "They're sending me out Peak. I'm not certain when I'll be back."

The teen blinked, "Wait, what? Sending you out? Why? Where?"

Storm looked up to stare at him incredulously, "Are you serious? Don't you know what's going on?"

Peak shook his head, "Storm, you're the only one that visits me and you don't talk about anything but training or how much of an ass Riptor's been."

The drauman kept staring at him, making Peak shift uncomfortably. Shaking his head, the gray said, "You seriously don't know. You're honestly not shitting me."

Frustrated, the teen threw his hands in the air, "What?! What is it that you're not telling me?!"

Wing Storm finally told him, "We're at war Peak or practically there any way. There's been an increasing amount of border clashes with the mutant kingdom and sources say that they plan an aggressive invasion by this upcoming spring. Seems that Lord Dread Wing is hungry for more territory and we're the target."

Peak stared at him, disbelief clear on his face. Wing Storm continued on, "There's been some bad rumors about me back at the training base, so Riptor's trying to do me a favor by attaching me to a scouting unit on the front lines. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

There was an unsaid, 'or if I'll even be back' hanging in the air. Peak shook his head slowly, moving to sit at the table. Storm hesitated, but carried on, "That's not even counting the trouble that's been coming from an internal source."

Peak glanced up at him, silently urging Storm to go on, which the drauman did, "A lot of the young mages, mostly initiates and acolytes, formed a group called the Dragon's Tears. They're recklessly performing magic above their levels on the grounds that they should be able to learn what they want when they want."

Peak shook his head again, a sound almost like a laugh coming from his throat, "But dragons don't cry. There's no such thing as Dragon's Tears."

Storm shrugged, "Apparently they claim that the Celestial Dragon weeps for their lack of training. It's bad enough that they're giving the Wind Temple a bad name, but worst of all it's like they don't even care so long as they get their way."

**_"WHAT?"_**

Wing Storm jumped up, staring straight at Peak who was in turn staring straight back at him, a frightening look on the human's face. Feeling himself start to sweat as his heart sped up, Storm licked his lips and asked, "What?"

Peak was gritting his teeth but bit out, "What temple did you say?"

Somehow regretting what he was about to say, Wing Storm clarified, "The Wind Temple. It's where the group started and where most of their members are from. They claim that their training especially is neglected since they don't have a royal member there."

The temperature in the kitchen seemed to drop and Wing Storm could just make out the sound of high speed winds tearing around outside. Peak's blue eyes hardened into ice chips as he growled, "Is that true?"

Wondering why he felt so scared, so small, (it was _Peak_ for dragondom's sake!) Storm just nodded in affirmation, not trusting his voice right then. Peak's eyes softened a little, but not by much, as he sat back and seemed to think on something.

Storm swallowed the joke that rose in his throat and instead watched the internal struggle on his friend's face. It took a while, but the teen seemed to finally come to an internal compromise and nodded to himself. Glancing back at the drauman, Peak simply said, "Wait here and don't eat anything just yet."

Nodding again, Storm watched the human leave the kitchen swiftly, practically sliding down the wall in relief once he was gone. What had all that been about?! It...it had almost felt like the time he'd been present to one of Apex's furies, only different.

Alright, so he had suspicions about who Peak was but he hadn't really confirmed anything yet. It wasn't like the royal family were the only ones with a weird naming system and wind mages weren't that uncommon in the world.

Peak suddenly reappeared, a little bottle of some weird glowing yellow liquid in hand. Walking up to Wing Storm, the teen shoved it into the drauman's hands, and commanded, "Drink it, all of it. Don't spit a single drop out no matter how much you want to."

There was something to Peak's voice that told Storm he'd best obey. Taking the bottle, he pulled the stopper out and downed it in one gulp, almost gagging the very instant it hit his tongue. Dropping the bottle, he clamped both hands over his mouth, falling fully to the floor now, his body spasming.

The taste was indescribably horrible, causing a burning yet empty sensation all throughout Storm's mouth, down his throat and pooling in his stomach. Though it was agonizing, he somehow knew instinctively that Peak hadn't given him poison of any sort.

The drauman jerked his head up when the mentioned human suddenly set a plate full of raw meat next to him. As soon as he saw it, the sensation vanished and was replaced by an equally agonizing hunger. With a snarl, Wing Storm dove for the meat, devouring it at a shocking pace, even biting his own fingers more than a few times but not caring so long as he got another mouthful as soon as possible.

Peak quickly got him more each time Storm had nearly emptied the plate, at one point even outright giving the drauman a whole skinned rabbit. Just as suddenly as the hunger came on, it went, only to be replaced by a shrieking pain in Storm's back.

Unable to help screaming, he unintentionally grabbed onto Peak, who was now on his knees before the drauman, holding tightly onto Storm's shoulders. Practically weeping, Storm felt the pain starting to retract purely onto his back, seeming to focus on the scars where his wings had once been.

The pain intensified, to the point that Storm knew he was shrieking and crying and thrashing despite Peak's best attempts to keep him still. There was an odd feeling from his shoulders too, where the human's hands were, a sort of numbing tingle that also moved to focus on the scars.

Finally, finally with the worst of the pain exploding out at the same time, Storm felt something erupt out of his back as he let out his loudest scream yet. Slumping forward, panting and almost completely spent, it took Wing Storm several minutes to realize that there was a familiar weight that had been gone for two years.

Weakly letting go of Peak, Storm raised one trembling hand to touch the still sensitive skin of his new wings, unable to believe it. Slowly glancing up, his yellow eyes met Peak's kind blue ones, the human still gripping onto Storm's shoulders. Speaking quietly, the human told him, "I did a lot of research and I was able to find a potion that would give you back your wings. I gave it to you a little early, so it caused a stronger reaction than it should have. How do they feel Wing Storm?"

Knowing now who Peak was, Storm forced his weakened body into the proper position, bowed down on his hands and knees, about to blubber on about how he wasn't worthy of this gift. Peak forced him to sit up, snapping, "Don't you fucking dare Wing Storm! You are my best friend, NOT my subordinate and most certainly not beneath me!"

There was a warning flash of yellow in Peak's eyes and Storm distantly remembered a rumor he'd once heard, about how the dragon symbols the royals had wasn't just a marking for royal blood but to prove that they had gods in their ancestry. It seemed that wasn't a rumor after all. Nodding weakly, Storm instead slumped forward, repeatedly mumbling his thanks and his apologies for hurting Peak, as he now noticed that he'd clawed the human (his _god_) in more than one place.

Peak shushed him, "It's fine, it doesn't hurt. It's fine. Come on now, let's get you to bed."

Standing, he helped the drauman to his feet and walked him out of the kitchen, down the hall and up a flight of stairs to a guest bedroom. Wing Storm was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, his remade wings twitching on his back as a blanket was draped over him.

Smiling, Peak left the drauman to his rest, heading to his own room to deal with his injuries. As he washed the wounds Storm had unintentionally made, the teen gritted his teeth at the stinging sensation and instead focused on his upcoming plans for ungrateful brats.

Oh how he was going to make them pay. So they thought they were neglected did they? He'd show them negligence, all brought about by their own folly.


	9. Impulse

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Impulse

Note, this is set in the same AU universe as Heavy, Forward, Prowl, Cut, and Compromise. This is the last of the set.

(-)

Aaron frowned as he stared down the two before him, his own rusty-brown and tan drauman at his side with a similar frown. Jupiter spoke first, his tone even, "Riptor, do you understand what you're saying?"

The younger drauman nodded, only the tiniest hint of nerves on his face, "Yes Father. Wing Storm vanished two days ago, on the very day that I myself informed him that he was being put on active duty. It is very suspicious at the least."

Aaron spoke up then, his eyes focused on his own son, "And there is still no successful contact with your brother?"

Z'neth shook his head, "No Father, none at all."

As soon as the eldest prince said that, there was a dull, odd whistling noise followed by an almost unheard 'pop'. A pair of little yellow birds suddenly appeared in Aaron's office, one fluttering to settle on his desk while the other made to perch on a surprised Z'neth's shoulder.

All four of them stared at each other first, before returning their gazes to the birds. Hands trembling only the slightest, Aaron gently picked the one on his desk up. It gave no warmth, instead radiating a surprising cool sensation to the touch as well as the feeling that his hand was being touched by a gentle breeze.

This was no real bird, but one constructed of magic. A magic that Aaron recognized as soon as he touched it, "Peak?"

The bird opened its beak as if to chirp but instead his youngest son's voice came out, "Father, when you get this message please come to the Wind Temple with all haste. There are mistakes that need to be corrected and I wish you to bear witness to it."

Once the message was finished, the bird disappeared with another near silent 'pop', a tiny breeze coming from where it once stood. The bird on Z'neth's shoulder had almost the exact same message, only addressed to him instead of their father.

Wondering what this could be about, the four of them made preparations before leaving Aaron's office to make their way to the Wind Temple. What had finally drawn Peak out? Had he somehow gotten word of the war, of the Dragon's Tears?

It was clear that the boy was back though, as their assigned Wind Temple messengers were both bouncing excitedly in place, the girl nearly in tears as she kept repeating, "He's back! He's really back!"

When they finally arrived at the temple, Apex met them at the front entrance, looking as surprised as they did. Summit arrived just minutes after them, grumbling about what he'd do if this was a demented prank of some sort.

However, when the temple doors were finally opened by none other than Wing Storm himself, they all got a shock. Blaze Wind yelped out and actually pointed at him, "Your wings! They're back!"

Storm smiled broadly and nodded, "Peak did it. I don't know how but he did."

Summit frowned at that, which Z'neth caught. Making a mental note to ask his younger brother later what he knew, Z'neth had to catch Riptor's arm to keep the drauman from storming forward. Another shock happened then, as Peak himself suddenly stepped out from behind the gray drauman, "Hey! I'm glad everyone could make it! I wasn't certain all the messages got through."

Apex actually squealed at the sight of him and Peak suddenly found himself being crushed in a hug. Wiggling free of her grasp, he only escaped long enough to turn around before Summit had a grip on him. Finally getting free of him, Peak turned to their father and bowed before straightening up to accept a hug from him as well. Z'neth settled for a brief one, wanting to know, "Why did you call us here?"

Peak smiled in a sharp way, "Like the message said, big brother. There are mistakes that I need to correct and I want all four of you to bear witness to it."

Something about the way he said that unsettled them, with Summit saying, "Peak, this isn't going to be regrettable is it?"

The teen thought for a minute before answering, "Only to those that deserve it."

He strode off into the temple before they could ask him more questions, Wing Storm at his heels.

Glancing uncertainly at one another, they followed him in. Something about the temple felt wrong and Apex was the one to pinpoint it. She looked around, frowning, "Where is everyone?"

It was true, there were no priests or priestess anywhere that they could see, with no acolytes or initiates darting around either. They found them in the central courtyard, which had been set up like an impromptu stadium. The open air area had a set of four chairs on one of its four sides, a set of tiered benches on the flanking sides and the fourth side was where a group of initiates and acolytes were sitting in sealing chains. A large ring was marked out in the center of the courtyard in glittering white powder.

The missing priests and priestesses were sitting on the benches, with the few loyal acolytes and initiates with them. Several draumen guards were watching over the chained group members, all of them looking nervous and unsure.

Peak motioned his family towards the chairs, indicating they should sit. Once they were seated, Peak moved into the ring and began to address everyone, "Hello all! Thank you for being here with us on this grand day! To those that don't know me, I am Prince Peak, youngest heir to the throne and the current holder of the title Dragon's Wings."

One of the chained acolytes yelled out, "That's a lie! There is no Dragon's Wings! We were abandoned so that the other temples could get more than their fair share!"

Some of his fellows nodded their agreement, a few even yelling out jeers of their own. That sharp smile came back to Peak's face as he calmly said, "Oh, looks like we already have a volunteer. If you'd be so kind Wing Storm?"

The drauman nodded and released the indicated acolyte (a teenager who had to be Peak's age) from his sealing chains before shoving the boy into the marked out ring in center of the courtyard. Peak stood on one leg, undoing his boot before tossing it out of the ring and hopped to do the other one. Now barefoot, he rolled up the left pants leg to his knee, revealing the serpentine dragon mark stenciled in yellow on his shin.

The other chained up young ones went quiet, a whimper even coming from their ranks. The wind priests and priestesses smiled amongst each other, with the still loyal young ones looking surprised. Peak continued on, "When my magic first came to me, I couldn't control it. I was in solitude for five years, all to work on training my powers to make sure that I wasn't a danger to anyone. Five straight years, doing the best I could so as to best serve the temple I knew I would one day take over."

Straightening to his full height, Peak glared down at the acolyte, addressing him specifically now, "Five years I worked to get where I am. I've heard of you Alen. You've been here the same length of time. Why don't you show me what you learned in those five years? If you impress me enough, I won't do any more punishment than what will be done. If you don't, the you will face the consequences and accept them."

Peak gave a sweeping gesture at the other royals, "They will serve as judges to any draws and official witnesses to these matches, in addition to the witnesses in the stands. Is this agreeable to everyone?"

Those in the stands gave their approval loudly, while Aaron and his other children just nodded. The king himself was oddly impressed. This was a clear-cut plan, not something done on impulse like he'd been fearing. Alright, so some of it was coming off like it was thrown together, but events like this had been done before.

Peak backed away from Alen to stand to give the other boy room to work with, "Shall we begin now?"

The acolyte shook his head, yelling, "I object! This is a sham! A fake all set up by a fake king to -"

He got no further as Peak suddenly grabbed him by the neck and hoisted the teen up, simply saying "You have failed."

With that, the youngest prince plunged his hand into Alen's chest, making the crowd yell out and several jumped to their feet, Peak's own family included. But there was no blood, no crack of broken bone, not even when Peak threw the now limp acolyte to the side. What horrified a lot of them though, was the pulsating orb of yellow in Peak's hand.

The youngest prince focused his gaze on it, nodded to himself and gently tossed it into the air. The orb wobbled for a little bit, flickering in place before it rose up through to the sky and darted off. Peak then looked down at the sputtering Alen, who was looking up at him in horror. Staying where he was, Peak coldly told him, "You did not prove to me you were worthy of your magic so I released it from you. It has gone now to someone else, hopefully a more deserving person. Now leave. You are no longer welcome here."

The audience slowly sat back down as Alen was escorted out by Wing Storm and another drauman guard, still blubbering and yelling things that no one was listening too. Aaron sat back down in disbelief as Peak motioned for the next one to be brought forward. While his son had the power to do that (he himself had it as well, as did his other children), the king couldn't believe that Peak would go that far.

It seemed to have done the trick though, finally getting through to those young ones that there were serious consequences at hand for those playing around with magic. By the time the matches were over, two other mages (another boy and a girl) had been relieved of their power and sent away. The others were arguably luckier.

Peak had locked a lot of them to lower power levels, which could be undone by those afflicted mages themselves if they trained for it enough. Several had had their ranking stripped down to initiate level and a couple initiates had been put on probationary status.

The matches themselves had been brutal, both in its application and in what it revealed. Peak had attacked his opponents with spells that were well within their range to deflect, but many of them couldn't, either outright not knowing the correct counter-spells or bumbling the words.

As it was now, Peak was shaking his head at them, clearly disappointed, "There is no excuse for this. None at all. Double training for every last one of you, until I am satisfied that you know what you should know. Any further trouble-makers, I shall deal with personally and I won't be as kind as I was today."

That made just about everyone do a double-take. If Peak considered this being kind, what was his version of being mean?

Motioning for the defeated young ones to be taken away, the teen turned back to his family and smiled in that sharp way again, "So, what can I do to help?"


	10. Hush

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers, as is the OC Horus.

Prompt: Hush

Note, this is an AU and might be revisited in later prompts.

(-)

Horus stopped to catch his breath, yanking one of his thick work gloves off to wipe the sweat off his forehead while trying to find his girlfriend in this little park. Situated right next to her favorite 'snack shop', it only had a pair of benches and one small picnic bench table to its name, alongside its several bushes and few flowering trees.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting on their preferred bench, a bottle of juice in her hands. The redhead stopped for a second to admire her. Dressed in an oversized purple sweater with black pants and flats, she had her blonde hair pulled back in a loose braid and, to his joy, she was wearing the dull amber pendant he'd given her for her birthday the month before.

Sparing a minute to wish he'd had the time to shower and change before meeting her, Horus stepped forward to her, "Peak! There you are! Where've you been -"

She startled him into silence by practically jumping at him, her slender arms wrapping tight around his middle as she buried her face in his chest. The sound of her crying scared him, making the teen return her sudden hug tightly. He'd ran here straight off his shift at the amber reactors because the message she'd left for him on his personal communicator had sounded urgent. Added in to his worry over not seeing her for the past week, Horus felt he was hitting a breaking point.

He moved the both of them so they were sitting back down on the bench before freeing on hand to gently tilt Peak's head up to look at him. Wiping a few tears away with his thumb, he softly said, "Peak, darlin, hush, it's okay. Now, what's wrong?"

She snuffled and gulped a couple time, prompting him to find her discarded bottle of juice, which thankfully still had its cap sealed on. Handing it to her, she finally opened it and took a few hesitant sips before shaking her head and reaching under the bench to pull out her orange purse.

Opening it up, Peak dug around inside it for a minute before finally pulling a folded up piece of paper out and handing it to him. Confused, Horus opened it and scanned what it said, feeling his brain stall. Blinking, he looked up, took in the sight of the park's flora before him to reset himself and looked back down to re-read the paper. Licking suddenly dry lips, he asked her, "Is this true? Peak, are you really..."

His girlfriend nodded, trying to dry her face off with some tissues she'd also located in her purse. Taking another quick sip of juice, she squeaked out, "I've been feeling off all week and I had today off so I went to Medical for a check-up and that's what they gave me when they told me the results."

Horus nodded in a distracted way, reading the paper for the third time, "Does anyone else know?"

The blonde hesitated when she answered, "I think a lot of the dragonators and dragon caretakers suspect it, since Storm hasn't let me ride her the whole time and she kept trying to get me to stay the in dragon's maternity ward," she took another sip before going on, "I think Father suspects something too. He was asking me several pointed questions yesterday about how I was feeling and what's been going on lately."

Horus nodded again, "Well, this changes things."

Peak shot a horrified look at him as he moved off the bench, opening her mouth to say something only to close it in confusion when Horus went to kneel on one knee before her, clasping both her hands in his. Staring straight into her blue eyes with his own brown ones, Horus asked her, "Peak, I haven't gotten the ring yet and I still need to talk to your father, but would you be mine, now and forever?"

She went red and squeaked out, "Horus, if you're asking me to marry you because of the baby -"

He shook his head and cut her off, telling her, "No Peak. I'd already been planning to ask you on our anniversary next month. This just bumps everything up a bit. Now, darlin, will you be mine?"

Peak started to cry again, but she was nodding affirmatively and managed to choke out a 'yes' a few times. Horus sat back on the bench and pulled her into another hug, letting Peak cry herself out this time. Finally, she pulled back and re-accepted her juice from him, taking a long drink to finish it off before she tried speaking again, "Thank you Horus, thank you so much."

He gave her a little squeeze with one arm, a broad smiling coming onto his face, "Hey, didn't I tell you before? I'll always be here for ya Peak."

She used her sweater sleeve to dry her eyes, a weak smile coming onto her face as she moved to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He returned it briefly, letting her pull away when she did to snuggle against him with a sigh.

They stayed like that for a while, Horus actually almost falling asleep on her before Peak pulled away and tried to get him to stand, looking more than a little nervous. Blinking, he let his new fiancée pull him to his feet, asking, "What's wrong?"

Peak gave him another weak smile, shifting a little in place before she bent to quickly gather up her purse and empty juice bottle, "Well, about speaking to my father..."

A cold sensation hit his heart then, but Horus ferociously stomped it down before anything could show on his face, "Yeah?"

Peak bit at her lower lip, "You see, because of my condition, they had to put in for a change of schedule for me through the Dragonator Office."

That cold sensation turned to a cold, sinking one but Horus bravely strode forward, saying, "And you want your family to hear it from you first before they find out from a report?"

She nodded, a look of nervous relief coming onto her face, "I'd have to tell them today. Z'neth checks the schedule arrangements every morning and that'd be one of the first things he'd see."

Nodding, and knowing full well that he was basically walking into the lion's den, Horus offered his hand to her, "Well, let's go ahead and do that first. Uh...think I got time to clean up before we go though? I came here straight from my shift."

The sudden happiness on her face as she giggled and nodded made this all worth it, even though Horus knew full well what Peak's family could likely do to him and that included the wrath of his boss Ulrich, who as Aaron's best and oldest friend, was practically Peak's uncle.

But still, it was all worth it, especially when Peak gave him another hug and kiss, telling him that she loved him.

"Love ya too darlin."


	11. Morals

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Morals

(-)

Contrary to whatever the Dragon Flyz and other humans of Airlandis thought, Dread Wing did in fact have a strict code of morals that he followed. One of which was to be very...final...when it came to judgments.

Which was why he was holding court at the moment in his throne room, listening to the argument between a pair of mutants over who owned what land in their little part of Dread's kingdom.

The Lord of Old Earth kept the boredom off his face, observing the pair carefully. The argument itself was apparently generations old, all over a thin strip of wasteland that conflicting maps claimed belonged to either side at the same time.

Moving to stand from his throne, Dread Wing looked down at the now silent pair and calmly said, "The strip of land in question is now a border strip between your territories, belonging to me. It shall not be cultivated or mined without my permission. This is my judgment and it shall stand."

Sitting back down, he made a sharp motion with his hand to indicate dismissal to the mutants and their lackeys. Several of Dread's own dark dramen appeared then, more than ready to help along any stragglers.

Though both of the other mutants looked livid, they accepted the decision and quickly left before they were 'assisted' in doing so. Dread Wing leaned back onto his throne as the next party was brought in, making a mental note to send out a surveyor to update the maps of his kingdom.

This new case was also a land squabble, but it had more grounds. Apparently the land in question had been sold by the first mutant's great-grandfather to the second mutant's great-grandfather, but unfortunately the bill of sale itself was under suspicion, with the first mutant claiming it'd been forged.

Heaving a mental sigh, Dread Wing gave a silent plea for a Dragon Flyz sighting before turning his attention back to his duties as the judge.


	12. Engage

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Engage

Note, this takes place in the same AU verse as Hush.

(-)

Aaron was a fair man, that was true.

However, it could also be said that he was...difficult to negotiate with. Not exactly tyrannical but the man had built up quite a power base throughout the city of Airlandis through the combination of his years of service as a Dragon Fly himself, fighting against first Dread Wing's father before fighting Dread himself in the rise of the mutant's power. In addition to that were all of his contributions to the scientific community through his own experiments and studies as well as his experience in dealing with the Airlandian Council these past several years.

In short, it was no lie to say that Aaron was one of the most powerful people on the floating city, if not actually the most powerful.

So it was no surprise to him that the boy standing before his desk was sweating and doing his best to keep his back straight, especially considering what he'd just asked of Aaron. For his part, Aaron eyed him quietly, considering the teen and all that he knew about him.

According to Ulrich, Horus was a solid worker with the amber reactors, could be counted on to show up for his shift no matter the time and see it all the way through, and had been a good instructor to the newest technician brought on board last week. Personality wise, he could use improvement as Horus didn't seem to 'play well' with his coworkers or other dragonators besides Peak.

Otherwise, there wasn't much to tell. Horus lived with a roommate in the 'tech tower' (a joking name given to it for the high number of technicians that lived there) and his parents had both been professors at the University. His father had lectured on Ancient Religions and his mother had lectured on Ancient History, both of them specializing in Egypt throughout its time periods. Unfortunately they'd also both passed away a few years back of natural causes.

Moving to clasp his hands before him in a thinking pose, Aaron further considered this boy's request to engage Aaron's youngest child. Typically dragonators married other dragonators but no one would speak against a union between a dragonator and an amber reactor technician. It had happened before and the two jobs were closely tied together, so both partners could understand the trials and demands of each other's jobs.

Aaron's own marriage to Iranda had been considered unusual and almost the entire first year of their marriage, he'd heard the whispers about how it wouldn't last as well as about the betting pool about who'd put in for divorce first. All of that had calmed down not long after Z'neth had been born but there had still been some stubborn rumors in place that Iranda and Aaron wouldn't work out.

Quickly pushing those old memories aside, Aaron refocused his attention on the nervous boy in front of him. Horus had explained himself well, working hard on making it clear that he wanted to marry Peak because he loved her, not just because she was pregnant. Peak herself was currently sequestered away with her sister somewhere, likely with at least Summit standing guard over the two. Z'neth was likely readjusting Peak's schedule and trying to find work for her to do before she had to go on mandatory maternity leave.

Feeling that the teen before him had suffered enough, Aaron finally stood from his desk and nodded, "You have my permission Horus. Just make my daughter happy."

There was an unsaid warning attached to the end of that second sentence an all covering 'or else' that would have made many tremble. Horus however, visibly relaxed and brightened, moving to shake Aaron's hand, "Thank you sir! I'll keep her happy, don't worry about that."

Aaron just returned the hand shake and gave the teen a smile that instructed him he'd better do that or there would be consequences to pay.


	13. Voice

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Voice

(-)

"Apez! Apez! Wanna play!"

The ten year old girl gritted her teeth as her little brother's voice broke her concentration _again_. Turning to him, she made a 'shoo'-ing motion with one hand, "Later Peak, I've got homework to do."

The toddler frowned and shoved one of his inherited dinosaurs at her, demanding, "Play!"

Letting out a sharp groan, Apex dropped her head into her hands. Why was it that she had to babysit him today? It was Summit's turn anyway! But of course, he'd had to stay after school to make up a test he'd missed due to catching a cold the previous week. Z'neth was still at school too, taking the extracurricular course for dragonators and Dram was with their father, who was at the council building in a meeting.

In short, she ended up being the only one who had time to pick Peak up from daycare as well as watch him until someone else got home to take over and let her escape to the privacy of her room. Apex felt a brief bit of sympathy for Summit, who had to share a room with Peak since Z'neth and Dram already shared one. As the only girl, Apex had gotten her own room, even if it was the smallest.

Currently, the two were in the apartment's living room, where Apex had hoped Peak would keep himself entertained with his toys while she did her homework. No such luck for that it seemed. Feeling something bop her leg, she glanced at it and groaned again.

Having gotten bored waiting for her response, her little brother had decided to play with her anyway, making his plastic T-Rex 'attack' her leg while growling. Seeming to sense her redirected attention, the two year old looked back up at her and tried to hand her one of the small raptors, "Play Apez!"

With a sigh, the girl tried to correct him, "It's Apex, not Apez Peak. Say it right."

He looked at her in confusion, repeating, "Apez!"

The girl slumped forward over her textbooks, "Summit, Z'neth, anyone, hurry home already!"

Peak laughed at her and the T-Rex resumed its spirited attack on her shin, joined in now by a triceratops that was missing a horn.


	14. Awkward

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Awkward

(-)

Summit huffed to himself and tried to regather his strength. It was difficult to do given his awkward position, but he had to do it. When they'd been captured this time by Dread Wing and his minions, the Dragon Flyz had not been restrained by a force field but instead chained up in an old fashioned way.

Summit didn't know how his siblings were restrained but he himself was chained to the ceiling at the wrists, the chain short enough that he couldn't stand on his feet firmly but instead had to balance himself nearly on his toes in a painfully awkward way. Thankfully though, it appeared that no one had maintained this cell for a while, since the chain's base was cracked and the blond man was convinced that he was making progress in breaking it.

He had to hurry though. Gangryn had apparently been given permission to experiment on them or something. The screams from before had been too distant for him to tell exactly which one of his siblings it had been (he had a cold feeling of certainty that it'd been Apex though) and Summit had already yelled himself hoarse trying to get anyone to answer him.

The Dragon Fly stubbornly believed that he'd either been put in a distant cell from his siblings or that they were unconscious and that's why they were answering him.

Shaking his head, he glared up at the ceiling and gritted his teeth. Straining his muscles, he grabbed the chain right above his cuffed wrists and pulled down as hard as he could. There! The connecting plate had moved, not by much but it had moved!

Trying to get his breathing under control again, Summit focused on his task, trying to ignore the fresh screams coming from what had to be Gangryn's lab. Part of his brain did note that the screams didn't sound right for Apex, which meant it had to be one of his brothers, though specifically who he couldn't tell.

Growling under his breath, he pulled again on the chain, determined to get free. Once he did, Gangryn would pay for what he was doing.


	15. Lower

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Lower

Note, this is the sequel to Awkward.

(-)

Apex shook her head, trying to dislodge the uncomfortable headband Gangryn had forced onto her.

It didn't budge, but she should have expected that as it was on tight enough that it pinched. Taking a calming breath, she tried again, desperate to get it off. A dark dramen laughed at her when it peered in to check on her, making Apex give him a warning glare as best she could.

It wasn't easy, not with the improved mutein formula injected inside her, the burning substance coursing through her body in painful waves. Already she'd seen snatches of her own skin changing color, to something like a bluish-purple and she could feel areas that had thickened from soft human skin to the tougher hide of a mutant.

Her jaw hurt as well, along with her fingernails and her forehead, though the head part was likely due to the headband. Keeping her mouth shut, Apex tried her bonds again, mentally cursing to herself when they proved as strong as ever.

Her arms were tied tightly behind her back and there was a short link of chain connecting from them to a collar around her neck, which meant if she tried to fight, Apex was likely to choke herself first. Her legs had been cuffed together with a short chain at the ankles, heavy weights attached as well to further limit her mobility.

Despite all that, Apex was determined not to lower any part of her guard, especially since she was in a situation she'd never before experienced.

Somehow, Gangryn had found a way to seal her powers and had crafted the headband as a result. For the first time in her life, Apex couldn't reach out to the minds of the dragons or the dramen, even her empathy ability was all but gone at this point.

Unfamiliar panic and fear gnawed at her, which Apex forcibly shoved down to the back of her mind. She could get through this, she knew it. All she had to do was get the headband off and her powers would be back. Then she could force some of the dramen to free her, taken them out, and try to find her brothers, though part of her felt she should go for help first.

But first she needed to get the damned headband off!


	16. Plead

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Plead

Note, this follows Awkward and Lower.

(-)

Summit pressed himself against the wall of one of Warnado's many halls, keeping his breathing as easy and soft as possible.

He'd finally gotten free of the chain, carrying the length of it in his hands as a weapon. The dark dramen he'd ambushed when they'd entered his cell hadn't had the keys for his restraints on them, which probably meant they hadn't been there to bring him to Gangryn but instead to torment him.

Well, that was fine. Summit had needed to vent a little anger anyway.

Currently he was trying to get to Gangryn's lab or at least find one of his other siblings. So far his search hadn't turned up anything but he couldn't lose hope. Carefully listening to make sure the way was clear, Summit darted down a hall...only to run near smack into Z'neth.

At first delighted to see that Z'neth had also escaped, Summit's joy quickly evaporated once he saw that it wasn't Z'neth himself standing there but his mutated form instead, Dark Wing, son of Dread Wing. Still, he had to try, "Z'neth? Is that you?"

The new mutant before him frowned and reached for him, growling, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Summit backed up, trying to plead with him, "Z'neth stop! It's me, Summit. We're brothers remember? Please, you have to help me. Gangryn's hurting us, we need to free Apex and Peak!"

Dark Wing hesitated, a look of confusion coming to his face, one hand reaching to touch his forehead. Summit could see him mouth something to himself and went on, desperate to get Z'neth to remember, "Please Z'neth! I don't know where our sister and our brother are. We need to help them before Gangryn does something worse than what he's already done."

The mutated human seemed troubled, giving Summit hope that he was getting through. After all, hadn't Peak said that reminding Z'neth that they were family was what caused him to revert that previous time?

Only Summit didn't get to find out if it worked, because the dark draman that snuck up on him chose that moment to smash the Dragon Fly in the back of the head with a closed fist. As Summit fell forward, two other dark dramen were instantly upon him, using the length of chain to wrap him up in a sort of cocoon before proceeding to drag him down the hall.

Through his swimming vision, Summit only saw his older brother tilt his head before turning around and walking down the opposite hall. Any attempts he tried to make to call out to him again were silenced by the dark dramen with punches, until finally Summit gave in to unconsciousness.


	17. Caring

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Caring

Note, this follows Awkward, Lower and Plead. This is the last of the set.

(-)

Gangryn chuckled to himself as he took down notes during his observation. The four Dragon Flyz were mutating nicely, with the older three to the point that it was clear they really thought they were mutants. The brat still needed some work, but his siblings were actually taking care of that themselves.

The story Dread Wing had spun to them was brilliant. He'd told them that the four were his legitimate children that had been stolen from him by the humans of Airlandis in a move to wipe out Dread's family line. That the humans had done it to secure Old Earth as their plundering ground, stealing the precious amber from the mutant kingdom to keep their city afloat.

Dread Wing had gone even further, telling the four that one of the leading humans, a man named Aaron, had had them 'stripped' of their mutant dna, forcibly changing the four into humans. That Aaron had then raised the four as his own children as yet another blow against Dread Wing, instilling false hatred in them against their birth father while at the same time making them loyal to their enemies.

The mutant Lord had even covered why the youngest of the four kept trying to insist that they were human. As Dread had said, of course the boy would believe that, as he'd been so small when the humans had grabbed them that it was unlikely he'd ever remember his true mutant form from before.

Since then, the older three had been doing their best to 'correct' their little brother's memory and it'd honestly surprised Gangryn at the caring side they had to them. Well, to their brother at least. It did make sense too, as the Dragon Flyz had always seemed close when they were humans. Why should being mutants change that?

However, as if to balance that out, the older three also had an amazing cruel streak in them. Dread Wing had most certainly been impressed at how they had handled a dark dramen rebellion with a devastative efficiency. Now, if only the girl didn't need to keep that headband on, there would be some serious results!

Gangryn just sighed and shook his head at the lost opportunity. Perhaps another time, when they were more certain that she wouldn't revert to her human body at triggered memories. Despite the improved strength of the new mutein formula, there was still a chance of reversion.

Writing down his last few notes, the mutant scientist glanced back at where the youngest and the second eldest were sparring. It was more to keep their skills sharp than anything but Gangryn could already see the improvements that mutation had made in their strength and stamina.

What else would happen, if the mutations were continued? The very idea of the possibilities made Gangryn feel charged with an eager energy and a dark smile came to his face. Booster shots could be applied, as a method against reversion, and the results from that could be studied.

Mentally working out a way to present his idea to Dread, Gangryn drifted away, lost in his plans for the four and any future humans they caught.


	18. Believe

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Believe

Note, this takes place in the same AU as Hush and Engage.

(-)

Peak fretted at her appearance, trying to keep her sudden case of the sniffles under control. Apex poked her head into the tiny room, smiling at her little sister, "We're almost ready Peak."

The teen nodded and gave her a weak smile, "I'm not certain I am though."

Stepping into the room, Apex shook her head at her sister gently, still smiling, "Peak, you look beautiful and everything's gone smoothly. You're just nervous."

Peak nodded again, "I know sis. It's just...it's all so sudden."

Apex's friend Lillian slipped into the room then, replying, "Because it is sudden sweetheart. You're having a baby in just a few months and you're getting married today. Of course it's gonna feel overwhelming."

The two other women fussed over Peak briefly, helping her make sure she looked her best for today. Peak was wearing a classic white gown complete with gloves and a veil, but she had on flats instead of the usual heels, given her condition. The only nod to her favorite colors on her were some orange flowers in her bouquet and the amber stone bracelet Apex had loaned her for today.

There was a knocking on the door and Nora called to them, "We're starting!"

Peak called back, "Just a second!"

Checking over herself one last time, the teen clutched her bouquet of flowers and nodded to the other two. They led her out of the tiny room to where the rest of the little group was, with Aaron waiting patiently to walk her down the aisle.

Her father smiled at her in a slightly sad way, telling her, "You look beautiful Peak."

She smiled back and let him lower her veil for her, whispering her thanks. She glanced at the rest of the party, trying to calm herself as everyone lined up. Lucy had been chosen as the flower girl, Apex was her Maid of Honor and the bridesmaids consisted of Lillian, Nora, another female dragonator called Val and Peak's best friend from school, Jan.

The blushing bride tried to remember who Horus had. She knew his Best Man was one of his few friends among the other techs, and that all three of her brothers were part of his groomsmen but she couldn't remember where the last groomsman was from, probably another friend from the techs. Tommy was their ring-bearer, to the young boy's honor and slight embarrassment. Lucy was just delighted to be part of the ceremony.

They'd tried to find a way to include the dragons, but the best they could do was hold the wedding in one of the few open air chapels on Airlandis, so that the dragons could look in on everything. Claw Fire was the only exception though, being small enough and stubborn enough to be included that they'd made up the position of 'ring guard' for him. The young cub would walk behind Tommy, literally to make sure that the rings would be safe. Someone had even fashioned a tie of sorts for the young dragon to help him fit in.

Peak's attention went to the door as the music started and she gulped quietly. Here it was! Aaron offered his arm to her, which she gladly took, trying to hide her nerves. He patted her hand gently in a calming manner, which got a smile out of her.

Finally though, the music started at the doors opened, with her bridesmaids leading the way. They went by ages, with Jan going first, followed by Nora, then Lillian and finally Val. Apex gave her sister a quick smile before heading off herself, followed by Lucy and Tommy, with Claw Fire right behind them, his head proudly held high.

Her father whispered to her, "Ready?"

She took a breath and gave him a tiny nod, "Yes Father."

At last, he began to walk her down the aisle to the alter, her nerves seeming to increase with each step. The gentle croons of the dragons was soothing though, as was the presence of her father at her side. Through her thin veil she could see the audience and had to smile.

Comprised mainly of dragonators, amber reactor techs and a few council members, Peak was happy to see that some of her school friends had managed to attend, though she was surprised to see Ulrich there. Then again, she shouldn't be, as her siblings had worked hard to ensure there was enough extra amber to give them a sizable window of time for her wedding, so it did kind of make sense that Ulrich would take advantage of that to attend. Silently promising herself to return the favor when she could, Peak glanced at the open arches of the chapel and had to swallow a laugh.

From what she could see, someone had expanded on the tie idea for Claw Fire and had fashioned ties for the larger male dragons too, with necklaces of flowers for the females. Sky Fury was sniffling in an odd way though...could she actually be crying? Peak didn't think dragons could do that actually but it certainly seemed like it. Zap, also with a little tie of his own, was stationed in front of his mother, one of her wing hands on his back to keep him still.

Finally though, they were at the alter and she had to smile at her husband to be. Horus looked good in his suit, with his hair thoroughly combed for once. She was relieved to see that he seemed to be as nervous as she felt. Her brothers were behind him with the Best Man and the other groomsman, all looking tired but happy.

She had to blink back a sudden barrage of tears at the sight of the tiny music box in Z'neth's hands though. They had found it in Mother's things and it'd been decided that they'd use it in her place as a way to have her included in the wedding. Aaron would accept it from Z'neth after giving Peak to Horus, taking it with him when he sat down.

As the music died down, Peak and Aaron were before the alter, waiting for the rest of the ceremony to begin. She took a quiet breath as the officiant began to speak.

This was it, this was really happening. She was getting married.


	19. Found

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Found

(-)

Aaron was busy sorting through his reports when the door to his lab slid open. His youngest son, Peak, stepped in, holding a heavy-looking box in his hands and looking a little sheepish, "Father, mind if I borrow some workspace?"

The man felt his curiosity spike as he motioned to a clear counter, "Certainly Peak. What do you have there?"

A sudden thought occurred to him and he checked the time, a frown coming to his face, "Wait, shouldn't you be in school right now son?"

Sure enough, today was one of the teen's designated school days, where he had to attend classes instead of doing patrols as a dragonator unless there was an emergency that demanded his presence. To reflect that, the teen was wearing civilian clothes instead of his Dragon Fly uniform.

Shaking his head, Peak set the box down on the counter and busied himself with pulling things out of it, "Nope. The mathematics teacher called out sick and they couldn't get a substitute in time so they let us out early today."

Aaron drifted over, making a noise of understanding in his throat, "So, what are you doing?"

The teen seemed to finish setting up his work area and moved the box aside, "Part of my history project."

His father looked at the items in interest, but couldn't make sense of them. Glancing back as the boy, he asked, "What is it?"

Peak fished a hair tie out of his pocket and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail, answering after he was done, "Well when I'm done with it, it should be a diorama of a blacksmith's forge. By the way, do you mind if Jan swings by later? She's got the rest of the project with her."

Aaron lifted an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Peak nodded, sorting through some of the wire bits before him, "Yeah, she's doing the writing and I'm doing the building. The teacher gave us a choice of either one, but we opted to do both for the extra credit." Catching sight of his father's frown, the teen added, "We got permission for it! Besides, Jan and I aren't the only ones doing this either. There's at least six other kids in class that paired up. Yeah, it's a little more work but we get extra points for it."

Aaron nodded quietly, knowing well that Peak's history grade could use the boost. He tried to recall who Jan was but found that nothing was coming to mind. Looking back at his youngest, Aaron asked, "Do I know Jan?"

Peak glanced up from looking at whatever he'd drawn out in his art book, frowning, "You should. She's the one who usually brings any school work that I've missed."

Aaron made a noise of recognition, remembering her now. Jan had to be the petite teen with the ever changing hair color that came by occasionally then, often whenever Peak had to miss school either due to emergency or illness. The older man commented, "She doesn't talk much, does she?"

It was true. The girl usually just handed over the worksheets and notes to whoever answered the door, saying just enough that they knew it was schoolwork for Peak before practically bolting away. The teen stopped, put down the pliers he'd just picked up and stared at his father in disbelief, "Are we talking about the same Jan here? She couldn't stop talking to save her life!"

Aaron returned the look, accidentally causing an awkward moment of silence. Turning back to his work, Peak randomly commented, "By the way, did you know that another meaning of found is to melt metal and cast it in a mold? I didn't."

The older man shook his head, glad for the topic change, "No actually. Well, it's good to see you so involved in school work for once."

Peak reddened slightly and mumbled something, focusing on setting up the foundation for the diorama. Aaron smiled a little and drifted back to his own work station, intent on getting his reports in order.

Perhaps this meant Peak was finally taking school more seriously? That would be very nice indeed.


	20. Shield

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Shield

(-)

The machine was throwing out sparks and spewing smoke, making a dangerous sounding whine all the while. With a yelp, Gangryn threw himself behind some counters in his lab, praying that his impromptu shield would hold against the inevitable explosion.

Only...there was none.

With a sad little noise, the large amber reactor he'd constructed shut itself down, a series of pops and bangs coming from inside it that suggested he'd need to start from scratch yet again. The scrawny mutant still waited for a few minutes before cautiously poking his head out from behind his shelter.

When there was still no explosion, the mutant sighed and slumped his shoulders. Why wasn't it working?

He could make small scale reactors fine, but as soon as he tried to make them on a larger scale, they broke down. Was it something with the wiring? A difference in the power between the amber crystal sizes? What was he missing?

Sparing a second to wish he had an Airlandian technician there to interrogate, Gangryn gathered up some tools and approached the machine to see what exactly had broken down this time.

Lord Dread Wing was going to be very upset with him at this rate.


	21. Open

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Open

(-)

Dread Wing surveyed his kingdom from atop Black Heart as they performed a semi-routine flight. The open view from that height always made him feel big, though the lack in his kingdom stung.

Airlandis had so much! The biospheres, the amber technology, even their dragons!

Old Earth had trade, yes, but there was only so much on the world and he couldn't ignore the fact that more than a few areas of his kingdom were only open expanses of wasteland. There were even fewer areas that held anything of worth, except for the amber crystals.

But what were those really worth in the end? Stockpiling them created a thorn in the side of the Dragon Flyz, yes, but the stones couldn't be eaten, couldn't be drunk and only had decorative value at the moment, at least until Gangryn could finally work out how to make an actual amber reactor.

The humans didn't realize how much of a boon an Oasis would be to Dread Wing as well as to themselves. Clean water, healthy plants, cultivatable land, the benefits were endless!

Spying the tale-tell colors of Airlandian dragons, Dread Wing quickly buried his thoughts and used pressure from his knees to redirect Black Heart in that direction.

A good brawl always cheered him up, especially when it was against the Dragon Flyz.


	22. Tactile

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Tactile

Note, this can be seen as a distant sequel to Voice.

(-)

Aaron knew he'd get visitors while he was in the hospital, recovering from his back injury. He hadn't exactly expected to get them like this though.

The door to his room had slid open, allowing his teammate Nadine inside. She gave him a tight smile as he looked up, telling him, "You've got a surprise visitor today Aaron."

Confused, he tried to look pass her but a near-silent sniffle had him looking at the ground instead. Feeling his confusion grow, Aaron called out, "Peak? What are you doing here?"

Sure enough, his four year old son was tucked next to Nadine's legs, one of his little hands in hers, the other rubbing at his face. Aaron glanced at his teammate, taking in again her carefully hidden anger and looked back down in time for Peak to look up at him, making Aaron's worry spike.

The boy's face was red from crying and he was sniffling hard, tears still streaming down his face. Though it hurt to move, Aaron reached out a hand for his son, asking him, "Peak? Son, what's wrong? Where are your siblings?"

At the mention of them, Peak seemed to curl in on himself and tried to hide behind Nadine's legs. Nadine's smile got tighter, which Aaron knew was never a good sign. She briefly moved to the side, allowing him to see now that her other hand held a small, tightly stuffed backpack in it. She put that on the room's tiny desk before bending down to pick the little boy up.

A mother herself, Nadine held him gently in a comforting way as she walked over to Aaron's bedside and explained, "I found him wandering around outside, in front of the hospital. When I asked what he was doing, he only said that he wanted to see you. I didn't see anyone else."

Transferring the still crying child to his father, she asked, "Is it alright for him to have chips? I'm going to get some snacks from the machine in the lobby."

Aaron nodded his consent, "Thank you Nadine. If you see any of my other children, please direct them here."

She nodded back as she left, that tight smile still on her face. Something else must have happened that she wasn't telling him, which meant that Peak must have told her, which could be another reason why his youngest wasn't looking up at him.

Ignoring the resulting discomfort and slight pain it caused, Aaron shifted in the hospital bed so as to properly hold his small child close, "Peak, did something happen?"

The boy shook his head, still crying. With a sigh, Aaron reached for the box of tissues that tended to be in the top drawer of the night stand. Pulling a few out, he got his son to look up at him and cleaned his face off, even managing to get him to blow his nose. Tossing the used tissues into the room's little trash bin, Aaron tried again, "Peak, I'm glad that you came to see me, but why isn't anyone else with you? Did something happen?"

The boy sniffled, "Peak is running away!"

Aaron blinked at that admission, forcing down his brief irritation that Peak was referring to himself in third person again after months of training him out of it. Hugging his youngest close, he asked, "Why are you running away? Was it something I did?"

The tiny blond shook his head and snuggled in, clearly taking comfort from the tactile sensation of the hug. Finally, the little boy mumbled, "Peak is bad. Bad things go away."

Mentally sighing, Aaron tried to get him to clarify, "You're not bad Peak, but you can get a little naughty. Why do you think you're bad?"

The boy sniffled again, "Everyone's mad at Peak and then the mean lady said Peak had to go away and she hurt Peak's arm!"

Aaron felt his anger spike, "What? Show me, son."

Peak started to tear up again, but held out his right arm. Aaron gently rolled the long sleeve back to reveal some red marks on his son's forearm, a clear indication that someone had grabbed him roughly. He knew immediately it wouldn't have been Nadine, who never raised a hand against her own child let alone someone else's and a sick feeling formed in his chest.

Pulling the sleeve back down, Aaron asked his son, "Peak, did that mean lady say where she was from? Something about a family?"

To his dread, the boy nodded and Aaron mentally swore again. As soon as he could, he was going to go to the office for Family Services and _ruin_ them. They'd had no right to try and go after Peak again. Dram was eighteen and a verified legal guardian for the other four, with Z'neth as the emergency secondary, even though he was only sixteen.

Aaron knew he'd have the backing of the rest of his team and as well as that of other dragonators. Almost the entire corps hated Family Services with a passion, which was only rivaled by the hate the amber reactor techs held for the same office for similar reasons.

Shaking his head, the man explained, "Peak, you're not bad. She's just a mean lady and I'll make sure she'll never come near you again, okay?"

The boy sniffled again, but nodded, seeming to be a little bit happier now. He brightened up further when Nadine reappeared with snacks and juice in hand, bringing the mobile tray over so as to give Peak a little table to eat at.

While his son was occupied with the chips, Aaron gave his teammate a look that said he knew and she returned it with one that said she'd help him with the destruction. Nadine had never forgiven the Family Services office after they had sent a representative to take her small daughter Iris on the very day of the funeral ceremony for Jameson, Nadine's husband and Iris' father. Aaron gave her a nod of gratitude before turning back to his son, "Peak, is there anything else I should know? Did anything happen with your brothers and sister?"

The little boy shook his head, but Aaron recognized the look on his son's face that said he was hiding something. Letting out only a slight sigh, Aaron hugged his son again, making a mental note to talk with his other children as soon as possible.

This was a stressful time for all of them, but they had to be careful around Peak. The four year old didn't understand the world yet like they did and to Peak, his tiny world had just lost its grounding. But that could happen later, after tempers had cooled and apologies had been made.

It did help ease his own temper though, when Dram and Summit appeared in the doorway, followed shortly by Apex and Z'neth. All four showed signs of worry and exhaustion, hinting that they'd at least searched for their missing brother.

That was one step in the right direction at least. Now they just needed to work on the rest.


	23. Journey

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Journey

Note, this is a one-shot AU.

(-)

At almost seven in the afternoon, Peak was woken up by knocking at his bedroom door. Groaning as he checked the time, the teen yelled at his door, "What is it?"

A voice that he barely got to hear lately answered him back, "It's me lil bro!"

Snapping awake, Peak jumped out of his bed and ran to his door, only to nearly fall over as he twisted around to run to his window instead and draw the thick curtains over it to block out the last of the day's sun. With his sibling's safety assured, the boy darted to his door and unlocked it to yank it open.

Sure enough, there was his second eldest sibling, smiling down at him in amusement, "Hey bro, how ya feel today?"

Peak forgot himself and grabbed his big brother in a hug, "Summit! When'd you get in?"

His excitement was cut short though when his brother shoved him back suddenly, hard enough that Peak fell to the floor. The teen gave his sibling a hurt expression before remembering the danger and looking down, "Sorry..."

To his credit, Summit seemed upset with himself as well, scratching the back of his neck before suddenly offering his brother a wrapped up present, "Happy birthday Peak."

Peak brightened up and accepted the gift, putting it aside to open later, like usual, "Thanks Summit! Is anyone else here?"

The older blond snorted, "Z'neth is going to try and swing by later if he can but Apex is on her way or so she said earlier."

Peak blinked, "Really? But that's quite a journey for her."

Summit lightly laughed and shook his head at his little brother, "Come on Peak, it's your eighteenth birthday today! Of course she's coming. Uh...there's stomach medicine in the cabinet, right?"

The younger blond quickly nodded his head, "I always keep some on hand."

His brother gave him a thumb's up of approval before turning it into a little wave, "Well I'm gonna head down to the living room now. You ready for tonight?"

Peak grimaced but nodded, "Yeah, but I still don't like it."

His older brother gave him a sympathetic look, "I know but tradition demands it. Do you need any help with your suit or are you good?"

The boy waved him off, "I'll be good. Big Z's been giving me some pointers this last week."

"Alright, see ya in a few little bro."

Peak gave him a parting grumble about being called 'little' before closing his door after his brother. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair and glanced at the present. Technically he should wait until later, but since he normally had to open his gifts away from his family, it wouldn't really matter if he went ahead and opened it now.

Peeling a little of the wrapping paper back, the teen was delighted to see that his present was a collection of action movies he'd been wanting for a while. Feeling his spirits lift a little, Peak put the gift aside and gathered his things to take a shower.

Tonight was his presentation to the rest of the clan, which was going to cause ripples of discontent. It was obvious that his life as a human in a clan of vampires was about to get tougher.

But at least he had his immediate family to fall back on.


	24. Scowl

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Scowl

Note, the bunny for Journey bit me harder than I thought. This is the second part to it.

(-)

Peak shifted a little uncomfortably in his new suit, from both the itching of the tag and the stares he was getting. It could also be due to the fact he stank a little from the garlic he'd been instructed to rub on his neck and wrists or the silver cross he had to wear. Both were necessary precautions but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Taking a light sip of his drink, the teen tried to think of something to occupy his time with until he was allowed to leave the party. Father had already done the speeches thanking the guests for coming to the manor this night and to present Peak himself to them as the youngest of the Arlan heirs. Then Peak had done his own short speech to thank the guests for coming to his birthday party and it'd been time to mingle.

So far, no mingling had been done. A lot of staring had been done though, with plenty of whispering. Peak had a good idea what they were talking about, because he'd heard a lot of it growing up.

A human dhampir was very uncommon and there were more than a few vampires that would love to find out if some of the rumors surrounding them were true. Plus the fact a lot of vampires thought it was such a shame that Aaron refused to heal himself when there was a perfect source so close to him. The fact Aaron and Peak were father and son seemed to be of no consequence to them, only that Peak was a unique human and therefore just a special food source.

Before the boy could lose himself any further in his dark thoughts, his sister suddenly appeared next to him. Directing a fierce scowl in the direction of the closest group of whisperers, she turned to give him a bright smile, "Happy Birthday Peak. I'm sorry this isn't going very well."

The teen shrugged, "Thanks sis. It's kinda going better than I'd have hoped. At least no one's made any remarks to Father yet."

Her smile stayed but got an edge to it, "After what happened on your sixteenth party, I doubt anyone would make that mistake again."

Peak winced at the reminder and Apex immediately gave him an apologetic look. Letting out a soft sigh, she told him, "I had Cifex put your presents in the sitting room on the second floor. I was hoping maybe I could be there when you opened them later."

Her little brother blinked before smiling back at her, "I'd love that Apex, thanks."

It was a little ridiculous that he normally couldn't even open gifts around his family in case he got cut on something, but unfortunately it was also a necessary precaution. It was just something that had always been done most of his life and great, there was the sadness again.

Forcing those thoughts aside, Peak asked, "So how is Cifex doing? It's gotta be weird for him here too."

His older sister gave a delicate shrug of her shoulders, "He is adjusting well but he doesn't like having to use the garlic anymore than you do."

Peak snorted, "I'm going to have to take another shower later because of it."

She just gave a little laugh and reached over to gently pat him on the head, "A little water won't hurt Peak. I've got to go, but I'll see you later?"

He nodded, giving only a token grumble to the head pat as she drifted away from him to blend back into the crowd. After just a moment, the blond drifted off himself, keeping to the edges of the crowd. Not all of the vampires here felt they had to be kind to him, child of the Arlan clan or no, and they had various methods of cruelty to use on him.

Not to mention the controlled human servants scared him with their glassy eyes and distant stares. Finding himself near one of the doors that lead out of the room, Peak hesitated and looked around for his father. Aaron was standing with some other clan leaders, seemingly in deep discussion with them.

However, as if sensing his son's attention, Aaron glanced at Peak and gave him a subtle nod, letting the boy know he could leave. With a grateful smile, Peak slipped out of the room and went straight to his bedroom. He'd be safe there until someone, either a sibling or Father, came to get him later.


	25. Hero

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: Hero

(-)

It was very clear that Tommy and Lucy hero worshiped Apex and Z'neth. It was also clear why the two kids did so.

Apex and Z'neth were both Dragon Flyz, the most elite of the dragonators and a group often thought of as Airlandis' main defenders. The Dragon Flyz saw the most runs on Old Earth, fought the most battles with Dread Wing...and in some cases, they even sacrificed the most out of all the dragonator corps. In short, the job of the Dragon Flyz was the most dangerous, as well as the most honorable.

As the leader, a lot of people immediately thought of Z'neth whenever the Dragon Flyz were brought up. With Apex, she tended to come to the mind whenever people discussed the dragons. The fact they were children of Aaron increased their status as well as the pressure put on them.

It was the same for Summit and even Peak, though to a lesser extent for the youngest sibling.

Still, among the siblings, it was agreed to be one of the most adorable things ever seen the day Apex noticed a small boy following her youngest brother around with the same light of devotion in his eyes that Tommy and Lucy had for herself and Z'neth.


	26. Writer's Choice: Exchange

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is mine.

Prompt: _Writer's Choice_ – Exchange

Part 1 of 5

(-)

Lord Dread Wing slowly blinked his eyes once, then a second time, trying to get rid of the spots in his vision. His scientist Gangryn moaned weakly from where he lay, signifying that the scrawny mutant was still alive at least.

Groaning weakling himself, Dread stood up from where he'd been thrown against the wall and stumbled over to his scientist, reaching down to drag Gangryn to his feet, "What was that?"

The smaller mutant shook his head, hands nervously reaching up to readjust his goggles, "That was unfortunately a failure, my Lord. I do apologize for it."

The red mutant just grunted and released his grip, letting Gangryn stand on his own. Looking first in disinterest at the bits of machine strewn around them, Dread Wing looked up to take in the state of the lab only to find himself staring instead.

Reaching back to his scientist, Dread grabbed one thin shoulder and spun the other mutant around, "Gangryn, explain this."

The scientist blinked in sharp surprise, staring around as well, "I...I think it wasn't a failure after all sire.."

He began to mumble to himself about 'exchange ratios' and 'time streams', apparently working himself into an academic fury. Dread Wing let out an exasperated sigh and demanded, "EXPLAIN Gangryn."

The scrawny scientist readjusted his goggles yet again, "Sire, it seems my teleporter did work but...in a way I didn't expect it to."

"Clearly," was Dread's only response, taking in the sight of his ruined throne room. It'd been years since he'd seen it like this, in the time before the treaty. Looking back at Gangryn, he asked, "I take it we are in the past?"

Gangryn glanced around again, "It would seem so, Master Dread Wing...but something doesn't feel right about this place."

The larger mutant gave a slow nod of agreement, looking around again. It was hard to put into words but there was this air of malice here, something about the room's set up that spoke to more than just neglect but a cultivated effect to instill fear into one's heart.

A war cry from above drew both of their attention upwards, to the sight of Z'neth coming straight at them. Dread Wing neatly dodged him, demanding, "Z'neth! What is this about?"

Gangryn had dodged behind one of the room's many stalagmites for safety, looking out from behind it and trying to get his master's attention, "Lord Dread! Wait I think-"

Z'neth cut him off, bringing up his wind jammer to point it at the mutant Lord, "You know what this is about! Where is he?"

Dread Wing gave the human a horribly dark scowl, of such intensity that it actually shocked Z'neth. Snarling, Dread told him, "You know damn well that I do not know where your brother is, anymore than you do Z'neth! Now what is this about? Have you listened to that poisonous bastard Joshua a time too many?"

The Dragon Fly returned the snarl, "Don't play dumb with me Dread! I saw you drag Peak off of Wing Storm and you taunted us with an execution deadline!"

To the human's shock, Gangryn actually tackled him out of the way as Dread released a horrifying roar and charged at him. The scientist was on his feet in seconds, screaming, "HE'S NOT OURS! THIS ISN'T OUR WORLD!"

Dread stopped barely in time, snarling right in his subordinate's face, "What was that?!"

Gangryn held up some hand-held device thing, the only undamaged part of the machine, "The numbers aren't right at all my lord! My teleportation machine worked but not in the way I expected it to! You and I were sent to a different Old Earth entirely!"

The red mutant snarled again, "Prove it!"

At that, Gangryn stepped aside and pointed at the heavily confused Z'neth, "Think Dread Wing! Would our Z'neth really accuse you of such a thing? In addition, he doesn't have the scars!"

Dread Wing frowned and glared heavily at the human, his eyes seeming to focus on Z'neth's right arm. After a minute he suddenly sat himself down roughly on the room's floor, heaving a massive sigh, "You're right Gangryn."

The mutant scientist turned to Z'neth with a light shrug, "I'm sorry for this, it's been a rough time for everyone."

The human shook his head, "What are the two of you talking about?! Where's Peak?"

Dread Wing shook his head, "Your guess is as good as ours, Z'neth."

Gangryn spoke up, "If what I'm thinking is correct, wouldn't he be in one of the cells, sire?"

The red mutant looked up sharply, "And why would he be th-...oh."

It almost visibly clicked in his head and Dread stood straight up, growing out his wings and flying off. Gangryn shrugged again at Z'neth, "It might be best if you followed him. Unfortunately my lord isn't exactly in the right frame of mind at the moment."

That had Z'neth darting off after Dread Wing, the human's exo-wings working at a hard pace. Mumbling to himself, Gangryn began to collect the pieces of his machine.

This was going to take days to repair, if not weeks. Perhaps even months if his suspicions held true.


	27. Writer's Choice: Discussion

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: _Writer's Choice_ - Discussion

Part 2 of 5

(-)

Hours later, back on Airlandis, the Council was not taking the news nor the arrival of their chief enemy and his head scientist well.

Councilman Joshua himself practically shrieked, "Are we really having this discussion?! For the love of dragondom, it's Dread Wing! He'd use any tactic to get to the city!"

The mutant Lord gave the brunet human a mild glare, "Nice to see some things are constant."

Gangryn held up his hands for peace, trying to explain again, "As I've said, we're not your world's Dread Wing and Gangryn. We come from a different Earth entirely!"

Aaron spoke then, for the first time the whole meeting, asking, "If that is true Gangryn, then were are our world's versions of you two?"

The mutant scientist neatly explained, "That's easy, they must be in our world. When my machine exploded, it must have somehow triggered events that switched both pairs...oh dear."

He clearly thought of something that made him wince, turning to his master, "Nocturna is going to have a field day with this, isn't she?"

Dread Wing groaned and covered his face with one massive hand, "I was trying not to think of that. It'll be months before she lets either of us forget this."

Everyone stared at the pair, all neatly caught unawares by this sudden turn of events. Finally one of the councilwomen asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Dread waved a hand at her lazily, "Just that our world should be alright without us. Your world though, I'm not so certain of."

Aaron frowned, "How so?"

Dread Wing spread both of his hands out in an encompassing gesture, making his dragonator guards nervous, "Think of it. From what I understand, your Dread Wing ruled Warnado with an iron fist and fear. With him gone, there's a power vacuum now and when he returns, I doubt anyone will be unscathed in the aftermath that should follow."

The humans all looked at each other nervously, knowing his reasoning was sound. Aaron's frown deepened as he asked, "And what can we do to prevent this?"

Dread Wing shrugged, "It's likely already in motion. I can try to rule in his stead but the way I do things is much different than what he does. There will be some form of fallout no matter how this goes."

Gangryn added on, "If I had help to rebuild my machine, this could be corrected faster and hopefully result in less damage overall."

The council members glanced at each other, with Joshua finally saying, "If we do agree to help you, what would be needed?"

Dread Wing looked at Gangryn, who took the cue, "I'd need Ulrich's help, access to a lab and an amber crystal. Ulrich because he helped me build the first machine over in our world, the lab to build it and an amber crystal to power it."

Another uneasy glance went around the room, but Ulrich spoke first this time, "I'll help him. If it means keeping a war from breaking out on Old Earth, then so be it."

The council members muttered among themselves before Joshua, their typical spokesman, said, "We need some time to think on this. Until then, Gangryn and Dread Wing are dismissed. We'll send for the both of you when we've come to an answer."

Dread Wing just let out a sigh and followed his still nervous dragonator guards out, while Gangryn gave a large shrug and followed suit.

Aaron frowned again at them as the two left, trying to piece together some parts of a half-formed puzzle in his mind. Something about this whole situation didn't sit right with him but he couldn't think of what it was.


	28. Writer's Choice: Difference

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: _Writer's Choice_ – Difference

Part 3 of 5

(-)

Hours later, the council finally agreed to help the two misplaced mutants but under certain conditions. The conditions were that they both had to have at least two guards at all times and that every move they did had to be reported in.

Gangryn and Dread Wing both agreed to the conditions and the mutant scientist dove straight into his work. Dread for his part seemed content to just wait on the 'sidelines' as it were, as no one was really certain they wanted him ruling Warnado at the moment.

Eventually he found his way into the Airlandian Library, which was where Peak found him. The dragonator guards let the Dragon Fly by with no fuss, though if that was so Peak himself could deal with Dread for a bit or because they were certain he could take care of himself, the teen didn't know.

He did find it odd though, that the mutant Lord sat up and put down the book he'd been looking at when Peak approached, clearly focusing his attention on the human. Trying to cut down some of the oddness from the situation, Peak sat across the table from Dread Wing. Nope, didn't help and it only seemed to increase the weirdness when Dread Wing asked him, "Should you be out of Medical right now?"

Unable to not give Dread Wing a confused look, especially at the honest concern the mutant seemed to have in his voice, Peak told him, "They cleared me to leave, but I'm not supposed to go on duty for another two days."

The mutant nodded at that, frowning to himself. That's when the reason for all the weirdness clicked, making Peak say, "You're not mad."

Dread Wing glanced back up at him, still frowning, "Why wouldn't I be? You -"

Peak cut him off, shaking his head and holding up a hand to stall him, "No. I mean, our Dread Wing is always mad for some reason or another. You? You kinda come off as, well no offense but you seem kinda lazy to me."

The other Dread Wing gave a slight chuckle, a brief flash of sadness flashing through his eyes, "You know, you've told me something similar to that before."

Peak lifted an eyebrow, "I have?"

Dread clarified, "Well, the other you did. It was actually more along the lines that I seemed too laid back to be the Lord and ruler of Warnado."

The blond couldn't help his curiosity, leaning forward a little to the mutant, "What's the other me like? What's different from here and there?"

The red mutant shrugged, "You're a little more carefree over there and honestly, it's a little odd to see you without a streak or two of color in your hair. As for the rest, it's...not so much different. Except for a few major things, just about everything's the same or slightly different."

Peak asked, "What do you mean?"

Dread continued on, "Well, the main difference is the lack of a treaty, but from what I understand, that might be on the other me's end more than anything. You see, back home, I'm interested in Airlandis, but I don't care to rule it. Do you know why?"

Peak shook his head, blue eyes wide in fascination. Smiling at him, and what a strange sight that was without the normal malice, Dread told him, "If I ruled Airlandis, I'd have at least double the headaches than I would just ruling Warnado."

He held up a massive hand, flicking his fingers as he listed each one, "First, I'd have to deal with the problem of the amber crystals. Even if I had loyal minions stockpile it for me, there's still the issue of transportation. Airlandian dragons are better suited for amber gathering than mutant ones and from what I've seen, Airlandian dragons only work with humans or at least work best with humans.

So that would mean I'd need some dragonators loyal to me or at least a way to force them to be loyal to me so as to make sure they'd gather the amber crystals. Which would mean I'd need more forces on Airlandis to ensure there was no rebellion which would mean cramped quarters on the city. That could be undone by forcing the humans out, but where could they go? Old Earth would kill them, so slaughtering them instead would be a mercy. But either way would enrage the few humans that I'd have to keep on Airlandis for the necessary functions which practically guarantees a rebellion then plus other issues like keeping everyone feed and content."

Sighing, Dread Wing changed how he was sitting in the chair and went on, "That's not even touching the problems that would arise in Warnado, both my kingdom as a whole and the crashed ship I rule from. You see, Airlandis is the 'flying city', which granted is its high point but also the main drawback for me. As it follows the wind currents all over Old Earth, that means for large portions of time, my kingdom is without its ruler. Sure I could fly between the two but at some point, that would just be too much work for Black Heart to do safely or that wouldn't require I be in the saddle for at least a few days. Do you see where I'm going here?"

Peak blinked but nodded slowly, still trying to let most of it sink in. Dread gave him some time to adjust. Finally, the teenager asked, "So, you made a treaty with Airlandis for...convenience?"

The red mutant made a noise in his throat, "Something like that. It works for both sides pretty well."

Peak blinked again, "How so?"

Dread smiled at him again, "Well for one, I do have my minions stockpile amber, which I use to do trade with the Dragon Flyz for information and a cut of certain technologies."

"Like the amber reactors."

Dread Wing nodded, "Yes, like the amber reactors. I also keep tabs on any Oases found as well as lava-locked amber pockets. In exchange, the Dragon Flyz keep me informed on the going ons of Old Earth and if any threats are coming to my kingdom. In addition to the reactors, they've also let Gangryn have a couple of replicators as well as access to a few of the Airlandian labs, where I do believe he helps out with research and development."

Peak sat back, still trying to take some of this in. Shaking his head, he let out a soft whistle, "Sorry but that sounds so unbelievable in comparison to our Dread Wing."

The red mutant narrowed his eyes slightly, "I've heard. Is...is it all true? What's he's done? Mutated a dragon cub, burned an Oasis to the ground, enslaved dramen, hurt you and your family?"

Peak winced but nodded, "In addition to other things. I guess no one's told you about the time he locked me into a nuclear warhead."

Dread's eyes flared as he growled, "He did _what_?"

Peak looked at him oddly, "Why do you care? I mean, the two of you are practically the same person...almost."

Dread Wing actually looked insulted and said as much, "That wounds me Peak, it really does. To be held in the same regard as such a villain is just outright disgraceful. If there were a way for the two Dreads to meet, I would certainly make my...displeasure known to him."

Then he hesitated and shook his head, "As for why I care...well, suffice to say, I doubt you'd believe me Peak."

The teen snorted, "Try me."

Dread just shook his head but relented a little, "I'll say this, you and I, in my world that is, we're close. Good friends, I believe you'd say."

Dread Wing shook his head again at Peak's questioning look and rose from the table, "This has been a good chat but I believe I should go check on Gangryn's progress. Good bye, Peak."

With that, the mutant Lord rapidly walked off, his dragonator guards running after him to keep up. Peak blinked from his seat at the table, trying to understand what just happened.


	29. Writer's Choice: Serious

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: _Writer's Choice_ – Serious

Part 4 of 5

(-)

Meanwhile, in the alternate world:

Peak idly threw a stress ball into the air, catching it when it fell back down to him.

Stuck in Medical _again_ and this time Dread couldn't even visit him. When the teen had asked why, there had just been jumbled explanations of 'universe switching' and 'not ours, complete asshole'. Peak honestly suspected everyone was keeping the two of them separate to keep Peak from convincing the mutant to help him escape from Medical again.

Not that he could this time, not with his leg still in a suspended cast. Thankfully that was his most serious injury this time around, though everyone seemed to get stuck on the fact it could have been worse. Okay, so he'd gotten knocked out of Storm's saddle and fallen off. Not the first time it'd happened and likely not the last (his pride hurt admitting that).

It wasn't even the first time he'd fallen into a canyon! ….well, it was the first time he'd fallen into one and not gotten caught by someone/gremwing/Wing Storm. Hitting the ground had sucked, but feeling his leg break had sucked harder.

At least he'd been found within the day instead of having to wait it out for at least two like it normally seemed to take.

The teen let out an aggravated sigh and threw the stress ball again, only this time he hadn't aimed right so it bounced off the side of his bed and rolled away under the room's small desk. Peak groaned and flopped his head back onto the thin pillow.

Great, now his entertainment was gone too!

Trying to settle into a more comfortable spot on the uncomfortable bed, Peak wondered if Jan could smuggle in his art book and paint set. That way he could get something productive done while waiting for company or to be released to his father's care the following day.

Maybe it'd even bury the hurt feelings that he couldn't see Dread Wing.


	30. Writer's Choice: Home

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.

Prompt: _Writer's Choice_ – Home

Part 5 of 5

(-)

Dread Wing groaned as he found himself in a familiar situation. Without opening his eyes, he grumbled, "Did the explosion really have to be recreated Gangryn?"

His scientist groaned back, "An unfortunate side-affect my Lord."

A new voice asked, "So, are you two ours or the other place's?"

Dread opened his eyes to see Ulrich looking down at the pair with his normal annoyed expression. The sight of a certain green and non-mutant dragon cub roosting on his shoulder brought more relief than it should have, letting Dread Wing say, "It's good to see you again too Ulrich, Snapper."

The head technician visibly relaxed, "Yeah, you're ours. I'll spread the word."

The mutant Lord nodded at him, mumbling, "Yes, do that please."

Gangryn got up from where he'd landed, muttering to himself, "At least the explosion wasn't as big this time."

Dread Wing gave him a light glare, "Just be quiet Gangryn."

"Yes Master."

"Dread!" a happy voice called out, yanking the mutants' attention to the door of the lab. A certain human teenager was there, leg in a cast and using a pair of crutches with more skill than a person should have.

Burying his anger at the sight of the crutches and the cast, Dread Wing quickly got up and went to hug Peak. It was returned immediately, with a soft "I missed you."

Dread murmured it back to his human, just relishing in the sensation of being able to hold him again. It was good to be home.


End file.
